| Purses are prized, plentiful collectibles
One of the advantages of visiting a large antique show is the opportunity to talk with specialty dealers who only handle one or two types of items. At last week's Miami Beach Show, there were a lot of booths with a single focus, including canes, silver, Tiffany lamps, art pottery, vintage purses, cut glass, Royal Doulton, bookends, singing bird boxes and many others. Specialists are often collectors first and become dealers later. This was the way vintage and antique purse dealer Nula Thanhauser got started. While she has been a collector for 25 years, Thanhauser only has been a dealer for a year. Her handbags are exquisite and she was pleased with her sales at the show. When talking about vintage purses, many people think of beaded bags with scenic patterns or perhaps one with petit point needlework.
Scarred boulder stands as monument to deadly dispute
About the size of a tombstone and scarred with sledgehammer blows, the rock squats to one side of a fork that divides a steep driveway in a Carmel Valley canyon. The fork to the right climbs to a sprawling artistic home with piles of '60s psychedelic albums and broken antique clocks, collected by a popular lawyer and his wife. The fork left leads to the more austere wooden-framed, book-filled home of an oil geophysicist. The rock stands as a monument to the final moment of their long and bitter feud. It began when the affluent neighbors began arguing over dog poop, a septic tank, a solarium and legal access to a strip of ground no bigger than a surfboard. It ended Monday when they argued over the rock and geophysicist John ``Jack'' Franklin Kenney allegedly shot to death Mel, 58, and Elizabeth Grimes, 55.
Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Action
At first look one might get the impression this is some sort of weapon-locking system. A fair assumption given that most antiques in the Houston area are gun related. This is no weapon, unless you're strong enough to swing it around and bludgeon someone. This is an antique film projector at the Heights Station antique shop in the Heights. It looks great in sepia with the macro focus. We imagine that everything that happened in past was sepia with a really narrow focus range. It's why there were so many car accidents. If you've got a camera, and you love Houston, consider joining Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Also, check out the Houston Photobloggers for some more great photography. .
Developers transform area around roundabout
Across Eighth Street, exterior work is just under way on a $3 million renovation of the former C. Reiss Coal Co. headquarters building, which will house a 2,200-square-foot retail space on the ground floor and 18 condo units above, said project manager Jennifer Johnson of Dixon Development. The condos will sell for $135,000 to $314,000, Johnson said, adding that 12 of the condos are reserved, though none have been officially sold. Reach Eric Litke at 453-5119 and elitke@sheboygan-press.com.
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